The government must end this half-hearted lockdown and get serious about coronavirus

Editorial: Ministers are correct to reserve the right to impose more curfews and extend restrictions, and should do so soon

The prime minister should enforce stricter measures

Is it too little, too late? The partial lockdown enacted by Boris Johnson is certainly unparalleled, even in wartime – and has had a radical impact already. Yet it may not now be sufficient to avoid a terrible crisis in our hospitals. Restrictions on free movement, gradually announced over the course of the past few weeks, will have a beneficial effect, easing pressure on the NHS – but Britain may still suffer grievously from Covid-19. If we had locked down a month ago, we would be in better shape to deal with the peak of the epidemic.

For that reason, it will be necessary to intensify the lockdown in the coming days. This will mean an even tighter prohibition on work during the outbreak. Building sites, for example, are presently allowed to operate, provided social distancing is practised (probably an unrealistic prospect). The same goes for the courts: despite the denial of timely justice that would follow, the imperative is to save lives.

People should not have to move around for their normal business, and may be trapped away from home or work while they self-isolate. So there should be a moratorium on all manner of fines and unpaid bills, just as there is for evictions, until the crisis passes.

We know that public transport, especially in London, cannot operate as normal because of staff shortages. But the Sunday service is simply cramming more commuters – many of them vital workers – into tiny spaces. It makes a mockery of social distancing conventions, and will mean less staffing in hospitals and schools. It’s therefore welcome that the health secretary announced yesterday that a full Tube service will continue to run, in order that passengers can properly practice social distancing.

The relaxation of parking restrictions would also allow key workers to get off public transport and drive to and from hospitals, care homes and other places, in relative safety. After all, congestion is no longer a problem, and London’s congestion and ULEZ charges have been dropped by the mayor, Sadiq Khan.

It is doubly unfair to have employers insist that non-key employees attend work – both because of the risk to their health and that of their colleagues, and also because they could be fined by the police under the new rules.

Ministers are right to reserve the right to impose more curfews and extend restrictions, and should move again soon. They should also consider escalating the level of fines from the present tokenistic £30, a figure often quoted, and make violation of the quarantine rules a more serious criminal offence, with a criminal record for the reckless spreaders of disease. That would provide a more effective deterrent, and it is needed – because lives are at stake.

More widely, testing for coronavirus and antibodies remains way behind schedule, and there is not much more reassurance that the volume of protective kit and ventilators needed will arrive in time. The government is no doubt working hard on all of this, “moving heaven and earth”, according to the health secretary Matt Hancock, within the framework of decisions taken over the preceding weeks. There is nothing that can be done about whatever errors were made over the past few weeks, but the questions about those expert and political judgements inevitably persist